


Tomorrow

by Balcoth2



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Adoption, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Tree, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper Parent-Child Relationship, Eleven | Jane Hopper and Mike Wheeler are Cute, F/M, Families of Choice, Family Don't End in Blood, Family Feels, First Christmas, Gen, Happy Eleven | Jane Hopper, Jim "Chief" Hopper Being Jim "Chief" Hopper, Post-Season/Series 02, Precious Eleven | Jane Hopper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 20:26:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17148551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Balcoth2/pseuds/Balcoth2
Summary: Hopper learns that a simple word, one that is often taken for granted, can have so much more meaning than he knows as he and the party (plus family) throw a Christmas party for El who is on her way to realizing what it's like to be a person instead of a lab experiment.





	Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> First Fanfiction on this sight or any other so go easy on me

Hopper felt bad going behind the kid’s back but didn't want to get her hopes up if things went south. It had been a year since he had met the doctor in the bar and gotten the forged birth certificate. It had been a long year for the both of them, mainly because El wanted to see her friends but Hop knew it was too dangerous to let her stray too far from the house. Their little cabin became the place to be as they became host to many sleepovers and movie marathons in the year since the gate had been closed.

It was Mike who came up with the probable cover story; if anyone asked what they were doing in the woods, they would tell them about the fort they made in a small clearing. An old tent held up with half of a frame, an old beach umbrella, and a lot of duct-tape made their fort. An old log, a chair made of cinder blocks, and a couple of ripped out seats from a junker in the scrapyard that served as seating arrangements helped to sell the bit even along with a cinder block fire pit. Each of the boys, Max, and Steve learned the roundabout way to the fort through the woods and came up with landmarks along the chosen path. 

They even came up with a background story for how they found it: a game of hide and seek tag in the woods turned into a live action rendition of their latest dungeons and dragons campaign. When it got late they realized they were a bit lost but marked a path as they made their way back both so they could find the clearing again and so they could see if they accidentally back-tracked. The fort was built during subsequent trips and was still a work in progress. 

Hopper had to hand it to the kid, he knew how to tell a convincing story. Even he found himself falling for it, forgetting that Mike had told him straight off that this was their alibi if they got caught hanging out in the woods… Which they had… twice, but the cover story held true, so practiced and rehearsed that it felt natural to everyone, it was almost as if they started to believe their own lies. Or maybe because that's what really happened, the police chief didn't know what to believe anymore. The kids were  _ that _ good.  
  


Hop had been in a mad rush in the last month. As it was December, he wanted her to truly experience Christmas. The previous year, not too long after she found him near the edge of the forest, they hadn't done anything for the holiday which had already passed, as did the transition into the new year, with little thought from each. One didn't know any better and the other had lived without them so long that he didn't feel like bringing up old memories. And at the time it was fine, in his eyes she was little more than a preteen in a sort of pseudo witness protection but now things were different. 

He had come to think of her as a daughter and was worried that she wouldn't want to be after the second year in the cabin. Yet all of those insecurities burned a week after the gate closed. 

 

He listened to her soft footfalls from his place on the couch, pretending to be asleep. He thought she would go to the refrigerator to have a midnight snack in the form of frozen waffles and waited to catch her in the act, instead she went over to the new desk in the corner of the room and turned on a flashlight. He heard the turning of pages, saw her eyes go alight even at a distance and in the soft light of the flashlight’s beam shining off the page, she then close the book with a smile before going back to her room. Whatever definition she read had him convinced she felt that everything was right with the world, that was the same smile he had first seen when Mike had comforted her after a nightmare the during their first sleepover and only a handful of other times. It had taken her a moment to realize she was no longer in any danger, that she was safe, that everything was the way it should be but when she did she gave the kid a soft smile that took up half her face and she looked younger, no longer haunted by her memories that made her so stoic, so serious. And seeing that so soon after everything that happened let Hopper sleep peacefully for the first time in a long time.

 

The next day he caught her fumbling with his name several times, which was odd considering the amount of time they spent together and how close they got over the past year. What happened after dinner was something he never expected, she said “thanks, dad” as she moved to put her plate away. (And god dammit if his heart didn't melt) She froze and had tried to cover it up of course but he waved her off and admitted he didn't mind filling the role. 

That had been a lie, he  _ wanted _ to play that role; to have a second chance to be a father, her father, and he couldn't think of a better kid to have. 

 

He'd never admit any of that though, to her or her friends.  
  


Thinking back on that day, he had to laugh because she saved him from the potential awkwardness at the party when he would tell her about the adoption. Now that he was her dad in every way but by blood, the transition would be easy. If she didn't choose him, it would've been a learning curve for the both of them. 

This lead him to remember that this season was the time of new beginnings and wanted to follow that way of thinking. He bought a decent sized house with a finished basement and a big backyard, after all the tiny cabin had been host to several cookouts with ten kids running around, plus adults, space to entertain was a must. He had a lot of money saved up, since his wife left, he had no reason to make any extravagant purchases or comparatively smaller things like large meals; the kitchen in his old trailer was seldom home to anything other than frozen pizza, TV dinners, beer, and a loaf of bread. After spending about a decade of hardly spending, on top of the money he had saved from before, he could afford a real home.

Because his kid deserved it.

 

In the spirit of new beginnings, he and Joyce were going to make their relationship known. The death of Bob, though tragic, opened up Joyce’s eyes to someone who had been there the whole time. Her and Bob hadn't been dating for too long when he had died. After the grief passed and they shared a cigarette at the back of the gym during the dance, she realized there was still something there, even after all these years. They had several dates when Steve, Nancy, or Jonathan came over to join in the movie nights. 

Steve was a surprise to Hopper, he thought for sure the teen would never be caught dead hanging with a gang of middle schoolers but, then again, he never expected to be a father again. Besides if one thing was certain, these kids wormed their way into the hearts of everyone, including the bitter chief of police and the dethroned ‘king’ of the local high school. Steve came to the cabin a lot. At first things were a bit awkward, Hop not knowing why he would be here too, but he proved to be good with the kids. The chief had overheard Dustin and the teen talking about the latter wanting to dropout of school as things weren't going so well. Hop started to put the kid on the right track even going so far as to tutor the kid and give him a job at the station during the summer. He was like an older brother to the younger kids and the chief found that he didn't have to worry as much. Steve was responsible enough and it gave him some alone time with Joyce so he was grateful that the teen was dragged along.

 

He sat overlooking the decorations around the living room/dining room of the new house from his chair in the dining room. The space looked good with lights and other holiday items making the it look more like a Christmas wonderland. Only the large tree in the corner remained bare, boxes of lights and ornaments sat on the table for later. All of the neighborhood families were staying home this year so they were all coming over tomorrow night, Christmas Eve, for dinner. The kids would stay overnight, eat breakfast, exchange gifts, then head back for Christmas with their individual families. It was unconventional but in this neighborhood, strange became the new norm. 

Eleven had been left back at the cabin while everyone pitched in to make this the best possible first Christmas she’d ever have. All of them had a hand in decorating and Ted Wheeler and Hopper picked out the tree. It had been Mike’s idea to save the tree decorating for the night of the party so she would be able to participate as well, Hop respected him even more because of it. Everyone was also bringing an item of food and gifts to exchange as well as an ornament to hang on the tree.

 

He thought back to the house when he bought it. It was partially furnished with basic, if a bit worn and dated, furniture. He bought a new couch, dining room table and chairs, and new mattresses for the three bedrooms. The Byers didn't have much to spare but Will donated some of his art supplies and offered to teach her art, Jonathan offered his old stereo system and a few mix tapes, and to document everything for the scrapbook he was putting together. Joyce offered some old clothes and to teach El what she could as well as suggesting to make a scrapbook as a group documenting El’s first house and first Christmas. She also had offered use of her employee discount at the store. 

Dustin and his mom had provided games and crafting supplies for El to entertain herself with as well as some used kitchen supplies. Mrs. Henderson also promised a kitten when her new cat gave birth, something which Hopper vehemently refused.

The Sinclair’s helped with the house itself. Hop had never met Lucas’s dad before and didn't know what the man did for a living. Turns out he was a handyman and a real jack-of-all-trades type who was coincidentally named Jackson. There was a few problems with the house such as a leaky roof, a slightly rotten stoop outside, a tree leaning too close to the sunroom, and a few drafty windows. The two of them, along with Steve Harrington, fixed the problems quickly and even had time to build a small shed nestled in between two oak trees near the edge of the property before the first snow of the season. Jackson’s wife, Carol, put her interior decorating skills to use and helped to make this place feel like a home. She had also elected to help him plant a garden in the spring. Much like Steve, Max helped out where she could but her flare for design made her the perfect helper for Carol.

If the others had been helpful, the Wheelers had been a godsend. Ted donated an old la-z-boy (since they had just bought a new one) and promised to help him with his taxes and other financial information. Hopper had a deep hatred for doing taxes so he was happy that the accountant volunteered his expertise. Karen offered to teach El saying that it would be good practice when she home schooled Holly but Hopper knew better, Karen was a good person and knew her son cared about El so she wanted to do whatever she could to help. She was also there most days with food and drinks for all of the volunteers. 

Nancy donated old clothes, toys, and books and even bought some new ones as well. She also decorated the small space in a unique blend of girly pinkness and the punkish culture she seemed to like. She promised to take the younger girl shopping at some point in the near future. She was one of El’s two female friends. (After she got over her jealousy of Max, the pair became fast friends and hung out a lot.) Nancy had been teaching her how to live as a teenage girl, something the boys could never do. She taught the girl about makeup, gave her ‘the talk,’ gave her lessons in pop-culture, and other information on how life worked as a teen girl in 1985. The Wheelers also offered to give El a job babysitting Holly with Mike after school to give her lessons in responsibility and how to deal with children, plus have a little spending money in her pocket. Hopper didn't think that it was necessary for her to be paid but they were adamant.

And then there was Mike. 

Hopper had to hand it to the kid, he was nothing if not persistent. He was always there to help: before school he would ride his bike ten minutes in the opposite direction to ask if anything was needed in the afternoon. He would sometimes skip lunch to bring the needed items from whatever store he had to go to and ask if they needed anything else. He would show up first thing in the mornings on weekends and would be the last one to leave at the end of every day. There were times in which Karen, Nancy, or Joyce would remind him that he needed to eat. If not, he'd work right through lunch or dinner even if he was the only one working. 

Karen had once said that she never saw that kind of devotion from anyone, let alone her son so devoted to a girl he had only known for a collective week. And yet, her son was very selective at who he let in to his life, his heart. She had never seen him so… broken than he was after the girl had disappeared. She thought for certain that he would be happy that Will was back and he was, at least until the boy left and her son was alone. He put up a facade of false happiness whenever his friends were around but she could see the devastation in his face when the others weren't around.

The only times Mike would leave were for school, to go back home when it got too late in evening to do any other work, and, of course, visit El. His eyes would alight in pure joy when Hopper would remind him that he was visiting the girl in the cabin. Sometimes Will would join as well. Dustin was allowed to go also but after almost revealing the secret, saved only by some quick thinking on Mike’s part, the party’s bard elected to stay behind on those quests along with Lucas who ‘didn't want to be alone with Mike and El while those two were making googly eyes at each other.’

But Karen and Hopper both knew that the light in his eyes would extinguish the moment the cabin’s door shut behind him, leaving El on the other side. For Mike, his world revolved around her and he didn't see anything wrong with that. They had nightly talks via the radio Hop moved into her room and Mike’s supercom even though they would have a sleepover every other weekend. The year apart had been torturous for them, Karen knew that, and perhaps now they were making up for lost time or perhaps they figured talking every evening would prevent another year apart. She wasn't sure which but what she did know was that El was her future daughter-in-law and the very thought scared her.

And yet somehow she was content with that idea as well.

As for Hopper, he knew that Mike was a good kid and a good influence on his little girl but he was still a fourteen year old boy so the chief was a bit uneasy about the kid’s intentions. Although he would remind himself that this fourteen year old boy risked everything to protect the girl he cared about, sure he played it off saying that he had done it to save the town but he wasn't fooling everyone, least of all Hop. 

 

He leaned back in the dining room chair and looked at the clock on the wall, realizing it was passed time for him to leave but wasn't looking forward to the imminent argument about his punctuality. He toyed with the glass in front of him and looked longingly at the bottle of whiskey on the wet bar nestled against the far wall. His eyes drifted back down to the paper in front of him and ran his fingers on the thick parchment that seemed to be used in all official documents. His mind drifted once again to how the glass got in front of him in the first place.

Mike had stayed longer than the rest and saw Hopper at the dining room table. They were the last two left in the house but somehow the kid knew the man needed to talk. While Will was wise, Mike was perceptive; often seeing things that nobody else could see, something that worked wonders when talking to El. 

 

“Chief?” Mike asked softly when the man didn't notice him.

The man glanced up at the boy and sighed. “You should go home,” he said in a sympathetic tone before looking back down at the paper, “it's getting late.”

The kid ignored him and pulled out a chair across from him and sat down. “Tomorrow’s the big day,” he said excitedly yet with a touch of apprehension in his voice.

Hopper glanced up again. “All the more reason to go home.”

“I will,” Mike said but he still remained seated. The police chief looked back to paper. “This is really happening, isn't it?”

The man glanced up and ran a hand over his face. “Yeah, I can't quite wrap my head around it either.”

A few moments passed in silence during which the man looked back down, hands toying with the page. “Hey, Hop?” He looked up to see the kid toying with his fingers nervously. “I'm sorry.”

Hopper blinked. “What for?”

“I don't hate you. I did for a time, but I don't any more. Keeping her away from me…” He trailed off. “I can't forgive you but,” he glanced up from his hands to face him, stood up, and offered one to the man in front of him, “you have my thanks, for being there for her. For doing this,” he said nodding at the paper.

The man leaned back in the chair and made no move to shake the kid’s hand. Seeing this Mike dropped the offered hand to his side and he sat back down with a sigh. “I'm not doing this just for her you know.” The kid’s gaze narrowed. “She’s my daughter and I want to make sure she’s safe and happy sure but I want to be happy too. I want to see her grow, make friends, go to school, because she deserves to be normal. Seeing all of this play out, it will make me happy. After Sarah, I-” he cut himself off.

“Who’s Sarah?” Mike asked after a few seconds’ pause.

Hopper looked up at the kid in surprise. “Right, you must have been too little at the time to remember. I had a little girl. She was only a two months older than your sister, Holly, when she was diagnosed, cancer. They caught it somewhat early and she had treatments but, in the end, it was too much for her. She passed away just shy of her seventh birthday. Now, with El, I feel like-” he stopped himself, choking back a sob.

“Like you have a second chance?” The kid asked softly, voice full with emotion. “Like your giving her a second chance?” 

Hop blinked.  _ Mike could give Will a run for his money: kid’s wise _ . “Something like that,” he said. “Maybe we all are getting one. You, me, Sarah, El, all of us.”

Mike stood. “Maybe that's what everyone needs.” The man said nothing, there was nothing to say. He watched as the kid stood and took two small glasses off of the wet bar. He filled both with ice then poured two fingers of whiskey in one and apple juice in the other. Ordinarily, Hop thought fruit and fruit juice should stay far away from cocktails, unless it was citrus fruit in some drinks or tomato juice for Bloody Mary's, but Joyce forced his hand. 

The kid placed the bottles on the table and slid the Jack on the rocks over to the police chief. The man raised a brow. “I saw you glance longingly at the ice the other day with my dad.” The two dads celebrated a successful tree hunt with glasses of Jack yet Hop didn't share Ted’s taste for it without ice. “Don't worry, your secret’s safe with me,” Mike said with a smirk before his face went neutral again. “To Sarah,” he said raising his glass of juice.

“To Sarah,” Hopper repeated leaning back in the chair, tilting it on two legs. He downed half of the glass before leaning forward again and dropping the chair back on four legs. He watched as his companion poured himself another glass of apple juice. “Think you can handle it, kid?” He deadpaningly asked. Both adult and teen chuckled at this. Mike downed his second glass and put the bottle of apple juice back on the wet bar. He turned back and picked the whiskey bottle with a questioning look. Hop raised a hand. “Still gotta drive home, kiddo.”

The kid smirked. “You kinda already are though,” he pointed out. “Home I mean.”

The man shot an accusing finger at the kid, rest of his hand still around the glass. “No one likes a smart ass,” he paused as he leaned back in the chair. “Home… El’s first.”

Mike nodded sagely. “Seems surreal, doesn't it?” He moved and placed the whiskey back on the wet bar before settling into his seat.

Hopper moved to take a sip but stopped short when the question was asked. He lowered the glass then raised it up again yet stopped short of his lips once more. Finally, he decided to put the glass down completely yet he toyed with it, spinning the circular glass around. “I just want what's best for her,” he said in a soft voice.

“I know, Hop. We all do,” he replied just as softly. “That's why we all pitched in to help truly make this house a home, your home, her home.”

“And I thank you, all of you, for that. It's just that… Sarah never really got a chance. I want to do right by her and I think she'd want El to have the life she couldn't… Or maybe that's just the dad in me talking.”

Inwardly Mike was reeling: ‘is the chief of police confiding in  _ me? _ ’ but he tried his damndest to stay cool. “Could be,” the kid admitted. “But I wouldn't know.” 

“But you will. Someday,” the chief said then he swiftly shot another accusing finger and a scowl at the boy. “Not too soon though. I'm way too young to be a grandfather. At least until I'm like sixty.”

Mike leaned back with hands up in mock surrender, a deep frown on his lips. Yet as Hopper’s scowl softened, so did Mike’s frown. The man had basically told him that he trusted him with his daughter and foresaw the two of them being together. Speaking of which, he glanced at his new watch and stifled a gasp. He stood abruptly and offered the man a goodnight with a promise to see him tomorrow afternoon. An act that left the chief of police alone and scratching his head.

 

Hopper downed the rest of the glass in front of him and placed it on the table. He stood and took the pair of glasses to the sink, dumped the ice, and cleaned the small vessels. He glanced up at the clock over the kitchen counter and sighed. He really should be getting back… But then he wasn't the only one that was late as Mike was late for his nightly talk with El… Which also explained why he left in such a hurry.

 

The evening passed without complaint as she was talking to Mike on the supercom and barely noticed his late arrival (for which Hopper was grateful because he didn't like dealing with moody teenage girls let alone a moody teen girl with telekinetic powers). He heard the two kids talk for quite awhile, walls were thin in the cabin so he heard most things they said; whether he wanted to or not. Mike had been spinning a her fabricated story about a lazy day playing some new Atari game with the others in his basement and El told him about what she had been reading or watched on television and the school work for the day, neither running out of things to say until they both decided to turn in for the night. 

By that time, Hopper made himself a quick supper and did his dishes as well as her’s from when she ate supper earlier. All in all it was a very quiet night, something somewhat rare in the house since all the late nights started with the new house and the occasional date with Joyce. He let her stay up as late as she wanted and let her sleep late as well. 

She woke up around quarter of eleven and after a quick breakfast of Eggos and eggs, the pair sat down to work on her studies. She was still behind on English and math but she loved history and science. He cut her lessons short and they began to practice with her powers; another of Mike’s ideas. He suggested that she started with small things that wouldn't drain her energy and they noticed that there were less nosebleeds. He told her that the reason she had nosebleeds was likely because the bad men had her straining herself with her power usage and theorized that if she used her powers on a regular basis, they'd get stronger. 

At first Hopper had been against this plan but he couldn't argue with the results, before she would get a small nosebleed from simply opening the locks on the door and now she could slide a chair out from under a table without getting one. He didn't want to strain her so he bought a bag of marbles for her to use. Where she started with one or two she could now make the entire bag’s worth fly around the room performing aerial stunts like they were being flown by the pride of the US Air Force without a single drop of blood.

After the quick training session, he urged her to get cleaned up, dress nicely, and pack a bag with what she'd need for a few days. At her questioning glance he explained that they were going to be staying at another safe house to escape the bitter cold the next few days. Neither part of the statement was technically false: their new house  _ was  _ safe and one of the many reasons he was glad he chose this day to stay at the new house was because the pipes in the old cabin would likely freeze overnight regardless of the fire roaring in the living room fireplace.

While she was in the shower, he packed his bags and she did the same while he showered. By then it was around two o’clock meaning the party had already started and was likely in full swing.  _ Good _ , he thought. He had wanted to arrive after the festivities began simply because he didn't like the awkwardness of trying to jump-start the action and, perhaps more of a pressing concern, was for El to start to get used to social situations. And the easiest way to do that was to thrust her into some against her will or through subterfuge. It was likely that she would be going into high school with the boys next year which meant she needed to get used to people.

That thought gave him pause. His little girl was growing up. Suddenly a flash of regret passed over him. He wasn't there when she needed him, wasn't there from the beginning. The moment passed and he remembered that he couldn't change the past, only make sure she had the future she deserved, without the dark shadow looming over her from that past.

“You ok, Dad?” A soft voice spoke from his left. Sure enough, El was there torn brown leather duffel in her hands, a curious yet concerned expression etched on her face.

“I'm fine, sweetie,” Hopper replied pulling her into a lax, one armed hug before planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Everything is the way it's supposed to be,” he reassured her. He released her and started to close up the cabin, putting out fire, and shutting all the lights off. El’s light in her room turned off by itself and the door closed in the same manner. Hop looked for any trace of blood but found nothing. “You're getting stronger,” he said with a slight smile.

The girl gave a quick smirk with a raised eyebrow. The smirk turned into a cheeky smile and she nodded. “Thank you,” she said pridefully before turning to where the jackets hung by the door. Hopper translated those words and facial expressions as ‘was that a compliment? I guess I'll take it.’ He chuckled softly and moved to put his jacket on as well.

The trip to the new house was quick and relatively uneventful, the pair of them rocking out to a mix-tape Jonathan made her a while back. Hop secretly loved these moments. The moments in which both he and El were able to forget the past for the briefest of time and just… live in the moment. 

All too soon, they pulled in the driveway and El immediately tensed up. “It's ok, sweetie; everything’s gonna be fine,” he said. Her face adopted a determined expression and she nodded rigidly before she steeled herself then left the truck. She moved to get her bag from the seat behind her. “Leave it,” Hop said. “I'll come back out for them later.”

They walked up to the door and Hopper opened it. Christmas music could be heard pouring in from inside and out of the corner of his eye he saw the girl tense up even more. He stepped in and El did the same. Ahead of them was a staircase going to the second floor, to the left was a small study with wooden bookcases lining one wall, to the right was the dining room.

Dustin walked out of the left door wearing a elf hat with a little bell on the end of it over his normal hat, go figure, and a pair of ugly green elf slippers with bells on the toes. The boy gave a toothy grin when he saw the two at the door. Hop took the time to shrug off his jacket and take El’s and hang both up in the hall closet. “Well aren't you two a little tardy to the party,” Dustin said giving the girl a friendly hug and the police chief a clap on the shoulder.

“Stopped for hot chocolate on the way,” Hop deadpanned not looking back from the coat hangers. “Got you one too but she drank it after she had hers.”

“Ha ha ha,” the boy deadpanned as well. “What's the phrase you like to use, what was it… oh yeah ‘no one likes a smart ass?’” He said jokingly. “Besides we have a metric shit ton of hot chocolate fixings here so I think we're good.”

Hopper huffed good-naturedly. “Don't you have anyone else to terrorize?”

Dustin chuckled. “Not until four, chief, not until four.”

El had a bewildered look on her face as she took in her surroundings. The railing on the upper floor was covered in multicolored lights like the Byers’ house two years ago. ‘Christmas Lights,’ her mind supplied. ‘Was it Christmas?’ She had learned the dictionary definition of the holiday and saw several examples on television but never really understood. 

She started to wander away from Hop and Dustin, who were still bickering (in a decidedly friendly way) out in the hall. She walked into where the boy had come from and noticed that the small room was empty yet decorated with the same color scheme she has seen on tv: green and red, silver and gold. She smiled and ran a thumb over the leaves of a small potted tree in the corner of the room. ‘Christmas tree?’ She wondered. The rest of the room had a couple of chairs one of which she recognized as a La-Z-Boy like from Mike's house as well as a loveseat. She gave a cautionary look around before jumping into the familiar chair and immediately pulling the lever. The chair’s back tilted and her face went alight with silent laughter as she remembered the only other time she sat in a chair like this **.**

“I see you've made yourself comfortable,” a voice said startling her. It was Hop leaning against the doorless frame. “I don't blame you though, those things are too damn comfy for their own good.” He walked over and pushed the lever with his foot which made El go back into a sitting position. “Come on,” he said moving towards another door across from where she entered which they went through. She got up and followed him wordlessly.

The next room had a long table with a strip of red and green cloth running down the middle and a large sliding glass door but that's not what caught her eye **.** “Woah,” she said in an awe-filled whisper. In front of her, in between the glass door and a window was a tall spruce tree that nearly scraped the ceiling. 

“Pretty cool huh?” a new voice to her right spoke. It was Mike’s sister, Nancy. She was nice enough but El didn't know her all that much when compared to the other party members. She swallowed her nervousness and nodded her head. The older girl smiled kindly, “Just wait until it’s decorated later tonight and it’s all lit up with lights and sparkly ornaments.” El thought back to the tv shows and movies she’d seen and to the Christmas trees there in. But this one wasn't decorated like the ones on television. She wondered how it got that way.  _ Did Santa’s elves do it? _

Of course she knew about Santa but Hop had told her straight out that he wasn't real. On the other hand she knew that moving things with your mind was considered fiction but she could. Maybe there was hope for a real Santa after all, especially when she was practically a real life version of Jean Grey. Mike had showed her the X-Men comics he owned, he made a point of showing her the ones with the telekinetic superheroine, be it for inspiration in her use of powers or to show her what she was capable of. 

Or maybe it was his way of telling her how he viewed her; El particularly liked the idea of that one. 

She blushed at the thought and glanced back up at the tree. That's the thought hit her: if Nancy was here then- she quickly turned back around to take in her surroundings. Karen Wheeler seemed to notice her swiveling gaze and walked towards her. “The boys are down stairs in the basement sweetie,” she said. El liked Karen, she was nice and always made the best food. 

El was a bit confused to see her though as she was wearing an apron and had a mixing bowl in one hand yet this wasn't the Wheeler house. It wasn't the Byers’ house either and this house wasn't on the same street as the Wheeler’s house so it couldn't be Lucas’ either. Which left Dustin’s only she didn't see the pictures of him, his mom, and his old cat Mews nor the ‘insane amount of cat toys,’ as the boy would say. 

Noticing the girl’s confused look and thinking it was about the basement instead of figuring out the owner, Joyce put her glass of water down and walked over to her. “I’ll show you the way down, I need to check on Will anyway,” she said kindly. 

El liked Joyce a lot. 

She had mama, Terry Ives, but she never recovered from what the bad men did to her; stuck in a loop of the hardest time of her life, she had Beth, her aunt, but she was taking care of mama and after a rocky start, their relationship grew. Joyce, even though she was raising two kids, was able to spend time with her and teach her what others had missed. It didn't take her too long to realize that Joyce had become something of a mother like Hopper became her father, she was just thankful that they had gotten close even if they tried to hide it. But El noticed.

She followed the woman through the kitchen, attached living room, and into a hallway. Half way down was a door which she heard voices through. Joyce turned around and gave her a soft smile which she returned before the latter opened the door. El recognized the voices as her friends and a wide smile showed on her face.

The pair walked down the stairs and found themselves in a large room. Joyce stopped in the doorway blocking the children's view of El. “Everything going well down here?” The mother asked. She was met with multiple voices speaking in the affirmative. “I came down to check in as well as to make a delivery.”

“Samples of Mrs. Wheeler’s cooking?” Dustin asked. 

El couldn't help but snicker silently. “No not quite,” Joyce replied. The girl heard an ‘awe,’ the sound of someone getting hit followed by a cry of pain induced surprise, and the bard yelling ‘Max!’

“Kids!” Steve warned.

“Ok, mom,” the zoomer exclaimed.

“And on that note…” Joyce said shaking her head at their antics. She turned around and faced the girl. “Have fun,” she said to her then squeezed her shoulder gently before heading up the stairs.

Predictably, Mike was the first one over to her. They pulled each other into a tight hug after exchanging their normal greetings of ‘I missed you’ and ‘I missed you too.’ 

“Are they  _ always _ like that?” Steve asked.

“Even if they just saw each other yesterday,” Lucas deadpanned while Max mimed throwing up. 

“I think it's perfectly them,” Will said and Steve nodded with a small smirk, ruffling the younger boy’s hair. Will wore his heart on his sleeve and loved to see his friends happy.

The pair broke apart and El went to go greet everyone in the room. She liked all of her new friends although she was still a bit weary of Lucas given his previous disposition of her as well as his tendency to argue with Mike. Still she greeted him warmly as she did with all of the others in the room. 

When she got to Dustin she frowned. “Why didn't you just get food while you were up there?”

“It wasn't for lack of trying,” the boy said quickly. “Karen smacked my hand with a wooden spoon when I went for the mashed potatoes so I snuck around to see if I can grab something else. Nancy distracted her for me and I made off with a piece of ham… Well I thought I did but Karen, without turning around, said ‘put that back’ and I got out of there,” Dustin looked passed El. “I think your mom has X-Ray vision or some shit, man.”

He turned his attention back to the girl who shook her head with a smile. “No she can hear.”

“Hear what?” He asked incredulously. Instead of voicing her answer the girl used her powers and made the bells on the boy’s feet jangle around.

Max snorted. “Not the best footwear for a stealthy entrance. Better leave the stealth for the rogue, o’ master of song,” she said elbowing Lucas.

Her boyfriend sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I'm a ranger, Max.”

“Yeah, even I knew that,” Steve piped up. “And I don't hang out with these nerds as much as you do.”

“That just makes you a nerd too,” Jonathan said from the far side of the room having been banished from the kitchen over an hour ago.

Mike tuned out the friendly argument and turned his attention back to El. He studied her face and was surprised to see that there wasn't a trace of blood under her nose. “You've been practicing,” he observed. She blushed and smiled sheepishly before nodding. “I'm proud of you, El. You're getting stronger every day,” he said pulling her into a gentle one-armed hug. He didn't just mean about her powers increasing but about the fact that she was becoming her own person and evolving into a normal girl in 1985. That's why he was so excited about tonight, all of her hard work was going to pay off and she was finally able to live a life the way she wanted to.

El smiled and leaned up to kiss him softly on the cheek. “I wouldn't be here without you, Mike,” she said just loud enough for him to hear. The girl may have been a quiet one but she was intuitive, able to understand exactly what the speaker meant when they talked. Jonathan called her empathic but she thought the definition didn't fit. She was able to understand a person’s mood and emotions by facial expressions, a necessity when dealing with Pa-  _ with Brenner, _ she reminded herself occasionally, as he would leave many things unsaid. By analyzing those expressions in conjunction with the context of the conversation and how someone acted towards her before plus how they spoke to her, she could understand the meaning of the message regardless of whether she understood the words in the message. 

_ Especially with Mike, _ she thought with a faint blush. He was able to understand exactly what she was saying even without speaking. Like her, he was able to understand subtle facial cues. They seemed to be able to have full out conversations with only staring into each other's eyes, facial expressions, and only one or two spoken words between them. Yet they loved to talk on the radio as it connected them but it was not as good as being in the same room together. Both of them felt at ease when they were in the same place as if they thought they'd never see the other again when they were apart. 

Mike wrapped an arm around her and squeezed, pulling her from her thoughts. “I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. You’re here to stay,” he said with such conviction that El had no choice but to believe him. “I promise,” he added even though they both know he didn't need to. She didn't know how or why but Mike seemed to be able to understand exactly what she was thinking or saying at any given time. El wasn't one to take this connection for granted and she while was grateful for everything, there was nothing she was more grateful for than her dad and the bond she had with the boy.

After a few seconds he let go and she took a quick look at her surroundings before looking back to him. “House?”

He looked nervous suddenly yet he nodded. “Yeah this is a safe house, the bad men won't find you here.”

That wasn’t the question she asked and he knew it. She knew he dodged the question she really asked but he didn’t lie in what he told her. She knew that he had his reasons for not answering the intended question but she expected to find out sometime. For now, she just nodded and pushed the questions of the house’s owner to the back of her mind. 

The party decided to play an assortment of board games and split off into groups. El always sticking with Mike. They played until Nancy came down to get them an hour and a half later.

“Dinner time?” Dustin predictably asked.

“Tree first then dinner,” she replied with an eye roll and a soft punch to his shoulder.

“Tree?” El asked looking up at Mike. He smiled down at her and said nothing. She huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms. Everyone had filed upstairs except the two of them.

“You'll like it, I promise,” he said still smiling down at her. 

She still wasn't completely convinced but followed him up anyway. Once they got upstairs, he led her to the multi purpose space and she felt overwhelmed almost immediately. There were faces she didn't recognize and a wave of panic went through her.

A woman with light brown hair beamed at her. “Oh Hop, she's even more precious than you said,” she gushed gleefully.

Mike felt her tense up beside her and his hand found her's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “This is Claudia Henderson,” he told her in a whisper, “Dustin’s Mother.”

Mrs. Henderson approached slowly as to not frighten her further. “It's so nice to officially meet you. The children had told me so much about you, I feel like I know you already,” she said in the same tone as earlier. The woman pulled her into a soft hug and El’s hand gripped Mike's a bit tighter. 

Claudia realized her and she stepped back. Three other people moved forward: a man, a woman, and a little girl. “This is Jackson, Carol, and Erica Sinclair,” Mike said pointing out each one. “Lucas’ dad, mom, and little sister.”

Carol stepped forward. “Thank you for protecting my baby,” she said misty eyed woman before she too enveloped the nervous girl into a warm hug.

When she was released, El looked passed the family to Hopper, who knew the unspoken question. “They know everything, kid. I trust them.”

Joyce nodded. “They recognized you as the Russian spy everyone thought you were.”

The girl cocked her head. “I spied on Russians not for Russians.” Mike gave her a questioning glance. “Bath,” she said and he nodded.

“Am I missing something?” Jackson asked.

“When El was at the lab she was often put into a sensory deprivation tank, ‘The Bath,’ wherein her powers would allow her to enter a void world. Inside this void, she can see and hear anyone she focuses on be it a person she met or someone she saw in a picture,” Mike explained. El nodded.

“Or heard,” she added.

“Later, she found out she enter the void if she covered her eyes and was listening to white noise,” he continued.

“White noise?” She asked.

“A type of sound that doesn't change much and it helps to drown out unwanted sounds. In your case it's either TV or radio static. White noise helps your mind focus because it eliminates distracting background noise,” he explained to her, she nodded again, he looked back to the others. “She has to use more of her powers this way than she would if she was in a deprivation tank but those things require a lot of resources like fifteen hundred pounds of salt and a kiddie pool filled with water. We built one and it wasn't a fun time,” he said feeling a phantom muscle twinge just thinking of carrying heaping bags of rock salt.

“Point is that we thought they deserved to know,” Hop said. “It was more dangerous to keep them in the dark and they can vouch for you if anyone else in town gives us any trouble about those rumors.”

“Vouch?” The the girl asked the owner of the hand she was still holding.

“It means that they have your back in all of this and they will put in a good word about you to help change other’s opinions,” he answered.

“And not just that,” Jackson spoke up. “If you need anything, say the word and we’ll come running.”

El nodded and glanced down at her feet, not used to the attention and praise. “Thank you,” she said sheepishly. Mike squeezed her hand again.

“No, thank you,” Karen Wheeler said. “For protecting my-our-children.”

“We will do everything in our power to protect you from the bad men,” Nancy said.

“It's the least we can do,” Carol finished.

There was a pause and El looked back up at Mike. “Tree?” She asked again.

“You're gonna love this sweetheart,” Joyce said beaming at the girl.

“I'll get the ladder,” Jackson said heading towards the door to the back yard. 

Mike removed his hand from El’s and lightly gripped her upper arm as he led her to the table. He took the lid off the small crate and pulled out a few newspaper covered ornaments. He handed one to his companion and she watched him unwrap his before doing the same. Her eyes lit up she unwrapped a hand-blown glass sphere with pink and purple swirls criss-crossing the surface of the otherwise clear ball.

Hop saw and let out a soft quick chuckle. “My mom always had an eye for the one of a kind handmade ornaments. ‘Each had a story to tell,’ she would say.”

She turned her attention back to the colorful orb in her hands after giving her dad a soft smile. “How do they make these?” She asked holding it to the light.

Hopper opened his mouth to tell her but Mike beat him to it. He launched into a softly spoken yet highly animated explanation of the art of glass blowing and she listened with rapt attention, hanging on his every word as if he was telling her the very secrets of the universe. 

Hop had to remind himself that was exactly what the boy was doing. This world was still so new to her and she was much like a curious child, wanting to know anything and everything, absorbing information like a sponge.

Mike finished his basic explanation when the chief stepped forward. “There are other types of ornaments that are massed produced as well which are a staple in the holiday season. I think there's a box of them somewhere.” He paused to look before plucking the large box from the table. He opened to lid to reveal about a dozen Christmas themed ornaments set inside their molded plastic sheaths for safekeeping she took out a blue snowflake and held it up with her free hand. “They are made in a factory that produces more of these that are identical to one another.”

El wrinkled her nose at the idea. Mike shrugged. “Boxes like these are useful because there are a lot of them in one place instead of getting them individually.”

“Plus they are cheaper in the long run. Otherwise you'd have to buy special ones one at a time and you'd pay more to get less,” Hopper added.

“Then again you are paying for ornaments you want in specific. Quality over quantity and all that.”

El nodded, remembering the explanation he had given her about that subject during one of their tutoring days. She frowned putting the second ornament back into the box. She held the blown-glass up to the light again and smiled. “I like these,” she said before turning her head back to Mike and Hop. “Not these,” she nodded to the other box.

“How about another compromise?” Hopper asked. She cocked her head waiting to hear him out. “This is a big tree.” She nodded,  _ that it was _ . “There may not be enough of the ones you like for the whole tree. So we use some of the others if we need to.” El smiled and nodded vigorously. “So much for ‘halfway happy,’” he muttered.

Jackson came back in with the ladder and set it up near the tree. The others gathered around the table and started unpacking boxes. Christmas lights went on first, Hop, Jackson, and Ted working together in a flurry of moving arms, wires, and jumbled curses. Next came strings of golden beads then strings of red and green popcorn (El wasn't sure what to think about that so she asked Mike who didn't know either). 

Dustin wretched a few times followed by a coughing fit, in his hand was a string of the colored popcorn with a few of the kernels mysteriously missing. “Don’t try it,” he said in between coughs and dry heaves. 

Everyone else rolled their eyes and turned back to the decorations save Steve. “You're a dumbass, you know that, dipshit?” he asked sarcastically, lightly punching the younger boy on the shoulder.

“I don't appreciate your tone,” he said during a coughing fit. “I have a natural curiosity.”

“Yeah? And how'd that work out for ya?” 

“Wasn't my best idea. Wasn't my worst either.”

“Eating painted popcorn that's older than you are is never a good idea,” the older teen deadpanned.

Will looked over to them as he was talking to his mom about some ornaments they made together when he was younger. “I doubt that's even in your top twenty worst ideas.” 

“I'd say more top fifty,” Max said. “Long as we're only counting since we’ve met.”

Lucas scoffed. “Try two thousand.”

“Yikes, that bad?” Steve asked.

“I swear on my life he ran through the town in a speedo holding a hive swarming with angry bees on two separate occasions.”

“Aaannnd now I won't be able to get  _ that _ image out of my head,” Max deadpanned.

The older kid looked dumbfounded until Hopper cleared his throat. “Sad part is that one isn't a lie.” 

“Nor was it his worst idea either,” Mike pointed out not looking up from the box of ornaments he and El were going through.

“We ran out of honey!” Dustin exclaimed. “Where else would I find some?”

“No I got that part, but why the speedo?” Steve asked.

“I tried to see what it was like to wash clothes in the olden days so I took my laundry to the creek and the bag fell in.”

“What's that got to do with the speedo?”

"I also wanted to see what it was like to bathe in the creek so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone.”

“How'd you get from taking a bath in the creek- by the way; eww - to running through town with a bee hive? And better yet why did you need honey while taking a bath in the first place?”

“I didn't have any soap and…”

“Soap? I thought we were talking about honey,” El asked.

“You can't really think in a logical sense with Dustin,” Mike explained, “his mind operates like a pinball machine.”

The hat wearing boy groaned. “Can we just get back to the tree?” He asked, clearly fed up with the questions.

Steve gave a short chuckle. “I just wanna know why that happened a second time.”

“My smoke bomb I made to help make the bees less agitated had the opposite effect.”

“Why did you want to smoke bomb the poor bees in the first place?” Joyce asked.

The boy gave a toothy grin. “Fresh honey is really freakin good.”

“But why were you wearing a speedo the second time?” Steve asked.

The boy shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Dustin?” Will asked poking his head around his mom.

“Yeah?”

“You are… Completely insane,” he deadpanned. It was out of character for the normally quiet boy who never had anything bad to say. That only served to make everyone laugh even harder especially after looking at Dustin’s shocked expression.

By the time everyone stopped laughing, the only thing left was to put on ornaments and they urged El to put the first one on the tree. Hesitantly, despite the reassurances from Mike that there were no wrong places, she found a sturdy branch and hung the orb she held nearly constantly since she unwrapped it. It shone in the light from the track lights over head. She smiled and turned to see Mike beaming at her as well.

The rest moved about and hung other ornaments. Laughing and joking around about previous holidays, El not contributing but she was clearly laughing the hardest. Then she spotted something odd amongst the decorations, a single stylized candy cane made to look like the sign for the north pole like she saw on a Christmas movie once. Only it said something different.

“Mike?”

“Yeah?” The boy asked.

0“No. Mike?” She asked holding the small object for him to see.

“Oh right. Sometimes people buy others ornaments with their names on it or give other people one with their names on it as as a gift,” he grabbed a small box from the table and pulled out a snowflake with ‘El’ written in a neat blue cursive. “I uh I got this one for you.” She smiled at it then glanced at the Mike candy cane she still held. “How about I hang this one you hang that one?” El nodded.

He took her by her free hand and took her over to the tree. He found a branch directly in the line of sight of the study’s door and carefully hung the light blue snowflake, making sure the name was pointing out. To his surprise, she hung the candy cane right next to the snowflake. “Perfect,” she whispered gripping his hand tighter.

“Just wait until it's finished,” Will said placing a homemade clay wizard sculpture hanging by a green piece of yarn. 

“Your first DnD model,” Mike said. “Mine came out looking like a deformed blob person.”

“Kind of fitting for a DM though, an unknown unimaginable monster putting us through trials and terrors while being hunted by the creatures, demons, from our nightmares.”

“It wasn't that bad.”

“Mike, our first time playing you were like ‘let's just dip our toe in the water for the first round and see what happens.’ We ended up getting torn to shreds so quickly it wasn't even funny.”

“I got better,” the DM defended.

“I know. You did,” he stated in agreement.

“You made this?” El asked naked awe in her voice.

“For DnD yeah,” Will said. “But I made a new one and turned this one into a Christmas ornament. Just couldn't bring myself to throw it away.”

“Can we make an ornament?” She asked Mike.

“Um…” He looked around the room and spotted Dustin holding up two sheets of construction paper and some golden string. “Yeah… Yeah we can do that. Come on.” The pair sat at the table and he showed her how to make a paper crane while telling her about origami and how he learned to fold paper into a bird. For her part she followed his instructions to the letter, tongue slightly sticking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration, and yet she was also hanging on his every word during the brief history lesson. “And that should do it,” he said making the last fold.

El smiled and held the pink crane up for him to inspect. He gently plucked it from her hand and smiled. It was perfect. He said as much and she giggled sheepishly. He gave her's back and held up his own. “Pretty,” she observed.

He smiled at her. “And if you hold here,” he said pinching his bird’s chest, “and pull the tail…” He trailed off and watched her face go alight with joy as her tiny paper creature flapped its wings. She pulled the tail again and laughed joyfully.

It was strange for the others who didn't know her as well as the party did. The stories they heard painted a very different picture of El than the bubbly girl they were witnessing now, playing with an origami bird like it was one of the most amazing things in the world. Then again they knew she grew up in the lab and never got the chance to know the world. The lab was all she had ever known and it was no wonder that she was so joyfully curious about the world around her.

“Anyone have a hole punch?” Mike asked.

Hopper pulled a pocket knife from his belt, flipped it open, and handed it to the kid hilt first. “Don't cut yourself,” he said seriously yet with a sarcastic undertone.

Mike cut a small hole into the back of the crane then fed a piece of the string through the hole. He tied it off and noticed El’s concerned look. “Don't worry, it still works,” he said. He held the bird’s chest and pulled its tail to demonstrate. The bird still flapped. “See?” 

She smiled and nodded. He held out his hand and she placed her bird onto his open palm. He slowly, carefully cut a hole into the pink bird and tied the string through it. Once finished he flapped her bird’s wings as well and handed it back to her. She beamed at him and wrapped him in a tight hug.

Hopper cleared his throat and the two separated. “You know, the legend goes that if you get a thousand of those you get a wish.” Mike took the pause to hand back the borrowed knife.

She frowned and looked at the folded paper in her hand. “This one is enough. I have friends. I have family. I have safety. I'm out of the lab. I'm away from Papa,” she paused tearing up slightly. “What more could I ever want?”

Mike gave her a watery smile then placed a hand on her upper arm as Hopper pulled her into a tight hug. They heard a sob behind them and they all detached from each other and turned as one to see Dustin balling his eyes out. “They grow up so fast,” his voice was muffled from the crying.

“Hey that's my line.”

“That's my line, dipshit.” Both Hopper and Steve spoke up at the same time. The chief glared at the teen who held up his hands. “Older brother of the group.”

“More like mom,” Max, Dustin, Lucas, and Will said together. “It's mainly the hair,” Max continued.

“What about my hair?” Steve asked at the same time as Dustin said: 

“What about his hair?”

“Don't worry about it,” Max said.

“You're just jealous.”

She scoffed. “Keep telling yourself that, Harrington.”

Jonathan clapped the other teen on his shoulder. “Everyone's a critic.”

“And that's supposed to make me feel better?”

Mike and El took the time to hang the two cranes next to one another on a branch near the sliding door. Hopper took notice first and put an arm around both of their shoulders. “I think it looks good.”

El looked the tree up and down and smiled. “Pretty.” Mike hummed in agreement though he was looking at her instead of the tree. 

“Still missing one more thing,” Claudia said.

Hopper looked up and saw that the tree top was bare. He knew he had two and he saw Carol pulling out a third from the bag she brought. He motioned for the two kids to follow him to the table. From the box of factory made ornaments, he pulled out a red and blue… he didn't know what to call it. It had a neck at the bottom and a sphere which tapered off to a point at the top. Sort of like a very elongated red and blue water droplet. He shrugged and placed it on the table. 

Carol placed a seemingly hand-made angel on the table as well. Hopper dug deep into another cardboard box, still partially filled with unused decorations, and pulled a cloth covered object. He had missed it. It had been in his family before he could remember and he was disappointed when it went missing a few years after Sarah was born. He didn't find it until he had been searching for… something after shit hit the fan again. Since then, he knew he had to give El a perfect Christmas.

He removed the cloth and stared at it for a few seconds. It was a beautiful brass star dull with age and had seen its fair share of holiday seasons judging by the small dents along the surface. Time had not been kind to her. There were speckles of black and it had lost its luster a long time ago. Yet somehow that gave it more character and no matter how many times his ex nagged him to, he just couldn't bring himself to clean it.

 

He placed the star next to the… shape and turned to El. “These are called tree toppers,” he said gesturing to them.

“Tree top-pers,” she repeated, testing out the word, then nodded.

“They go on top of the tree on the branch pointing straight up.” She turned around and looked up, the top did look a little bare. She turned back to her dad and nodded again. “Tree just isn't complete without one.”

Mike came up next to her and pointed to each. “A star, an angel, and a… what in the hell even is this?”

“Language,” Ted said automatically. “It's…” He said with a confused hum when he picked it up and looked at it. “It's…” He turned it over in his hands looking at it from different angles. “It's red,” he finished lamely while he handed it back to his son.

“Really? I hadn't noticed dad,” Nancy said sarcastically.

“I don't know what the hell to even call this.”

“Language!” Karen, Mike, Nancy, and Holly called. Ted grumbled and moved away from the table. The only male child of the Wheeler family turned his attention back to El.

“Regardless of what this thing actually is-” Mike began only to be cut off.

“Looks like a spire,” Dustin said. “Or something you'd find on a castle tower.”. Mike turned and glared at the bard. “What? It does.”

“Regardless of whatever this thing is,” the Paladin began turning back to the telekinetic girl, “each of these are a good choice in their own way. And again, there is no wrong choice.”

El glanced at her options carefully. The… ‘thing’, what Dustin had called a spy-yer, was kind of pretty but she didn't think it will look good on the tree. Maybe if they used more of the mass produced ornaments (she shuddered at the thought) it would've been a better choice. 

The angel, too, was pretty in its own special way. She knew the cliff notes version of parts of the Bible but she didn't know what to think. Neither Mike and her dad believed in God but Mike had told her that he did believe in something. El didn't really believe the stories that she heard on the subject but then again anything was possible. Still she didn't think it would be right to use a religious totem if she wasn't a true believer. 

She turned to the last object on the table and instantly felt drawn to it. It was the simplest of the three but it looked like it had been used the most and it was clearly the oldest. She knew from her tutoring sessions with Mike, Steve, and occasionally Dustin that metals tend to dull over time but can be chemically treated to shine again. This one clearly hadn't. Somehow, the dullness of the decoration and the small dents made her smile. Someone still cared enough about it, despite its appearances and history, to bring it here. In some ways, she identified with it. Both Mike and her dad looked beyond the surface of her skin, beyond her past, and learned to care about her. She thought they didn't have to and they got nothing in return but they still stood by her. She was this star. 

She picked up the brass star the moment her eyes landed on it and turned to her dad and Mike. “This is the one,” El said holding it up. “Still liked despite history and how it looks. Has…  _ character _ ?” The last word came out as a question, unsure if it was the correct word.

“Yeah it does,” Hopper said. “That star has been in my-our-family for many, many years. My dad’s grandfather had this made a long time ago and it's been passed down ever since. I've only recently found it while I was cleaning the basement. My ex wife, Diane, didn't like it much. She always was trying to get me to clean it-”

She pulled the star close to her and glared at not only her dad but everyone else. She set her jaw and narrowed her gaze. “No,” she said in a voice that left no room for negotiation. 

(At that moment, somewhere else in Hawkins, Troy sat up rigidly on the couch, molten ice running down his back.  _ Goose must've walked over my grave _ , he thought. Whatever it was that gave him the chills also gave him a sense of pure dread.)

Hop gave El a gentle smile. “My wife wanted to clean it, I was firmly against it.”

Her gaze softened and once she realized no one else was going to do anything to the star she held it looser, away from her body. “Perfect the way it is,” she said more to it than the others.

“Here why don't I hold the ladder and you climb up and-” Jackson began but cut himself off when the star started to levitate from the young teen’s hand. The star flew up and turned in mid air before landing on the top of the tree neck first. 

She smiled up at it. “Now it's perfect,” she said simply. Mike turned her around to look at her, hand reaching for the travel pack of tissues he always kept on him, but noticed there was still no blood. “I’m ok,” she said earnestly. “I promise.” He gave her a soft smile.

She turned back around to face the tree and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Dustin, would you do the honors?” Mike asked. Dustin saluted and literally dove under the tree. He found the plug and shoved it into the outlet. 

The tree lit up and so did El’s face, her dark eyes reflected the colored lights. “Pre-” …. Beau-” … She couldn't find the words to describe what she was seeing. The boy next to her squeezed her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. 

There was a bright flash and she blinked to get her eyes to readjust. Nancy gave the pair a sheepish smile while Jonathan filmed with Bob’s old video camera. The elder Byers boy was teaching his girlfriend the wonders of still photography while he was learning filmography. 

It was only then that El realized that neither of them were helping to decorate the tree yet she was happy that they had been capturing the wonderful night onto film. She beamed at the cameras and another picture was snapped before the two older teens went to capture the others. 

“So, was I wrong?” Mike asked her in a whisper. She turned to face him and cocked her head to one side. “About the tree. Did you like decorating it?” She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find the words to say instead she just nodded her head vigorously. He chuckled and pulled her into a loose one armed hug. “I knew you would.”

Will smiled and walked over to where they stood before the tree. “You know it was Mike’s idea to save the tree decorating until you got here. The adults had wanted to decorate it when they brought it here. Mike, Steve, and I managed to convince them otherwise but it was Mike who came up with the idea.”

El glanced up to face the boy who still held her to his chest. The look on her face clearly asked ‘is it true?’ Mike smiled down at her sheepishly and she turned in his lax grip so she could give him a strong sideways hug.  
  


Hopper moved into the kitchen and grabbed the envelope off the refrigerator. He pulled the paper out from under the Santa magnet and felt around for the key inside, giving a nervous sigh of relief when it was clear the object was still inside. 

“You don't need to be nervous,” a voice on his left said. He looked over to where Joyce was leaning against a counter sipping on a glass of water. “You're already her father in every way that matters to her. Only now you two can do other normal father daughter activities in public.”

“Everything's gonna be different now,” he said more to himself than to her. 

She smiled and pushed off the counter then walked over to him, leaning against his side. “Yeah, probably,” she admitted. “Not a bad thing though. You two can finally enjoy things that other families take for granted. Out there, tonight, I saw El for the first time. The real El. The El with no barriers in place. The El who for the first time ever was able to do what she wanted without being second guessed. Out there tonight, I saw a teenage girl who had a toddler like view of the world instead of the same girl who had the outlook of a battle hardened soldier.

“You can finally give her the life she deserves. A life of firsts. A life of a normal teenage girl minus pesky boyfriends.”

Hopper glanced over to where Mike and El stood together. “What about Wheeler?”

“What about him?”

“He's a teenage guy with hormones.”

Joyce crossed her arms. “So you'd rather have her date a young version of you, a rebel teen who smoked outside of the gym instead of going to class. A rebel teen who never did any homework but passed only because it was high school in the fifties? At least Mike is a good influence on her and I know for a fact that he'd sooner cut off his own hand than ever do anything to upset her. Although I've never seen him act this affectionately towards her with other people around.”

“That one may have been my fault,” he said rubbing the back of his neck. “We were talking he said something like ‘I'm not a dad.’ I said ‘you will be someday. Just not until I'm sixty I'm too young to be a grandad,’ or at least something along those lines.”

Joyce smiled. “I think they'll make great parents.” Hopper gave her a look. “Come on now. Don't deny it.”

“I don't. They'll both be great but she's my daughter and it skeeves me out just thinking about it. You know, her being a parent and all. Hell I’m still trying to wrap my head around  _ me _ being a parent again.”

“If there is one thing about Mike, he'll never be without the proper protection until she says otherwise,” she said.

Hop floundered for a few seconds. “ _ Why _ in the  _ hell  _ are we even  _ talking _ about this?!”

Joyce shrugged. “You brought it up.” She moved to embrace him in a comforting hug. “Everything will be fine. You worry too much.”

“Yeah maybe,” he admitted. He held her tighter. “I love you so much.”

She smiled into his chest. “I love you, too.” She caught sight of El’s knowing look as they realized each other. “I think your daughter might be on to us.”

Hop looked over to the pair and smiled lightly at them. “Knowing how quickly she catches on to things, I think she's known for a while now.”

Joyce nodded again. “Same with Will,” she frowned. “Think they'll try to ‘parent trap’ us?”

“Will? No. El? Wouldn't put it passed her. Hopeless romantic that one.”

“Watching nothing but soap operas will do that.”

 

Mike caught Hopper’s glance over his daughter’s head then glanced down to see the envelope in his grasp. The chief nodded his head to signify that it was time. “Come on,” he whispered as he gently lead El over to the living room half of the large space. He could tell she didn't want to leave the tree so he chose the small loveseat which had the best view of it. She smiled at him and he grinned back. They both wordlessly leaned back and she rested her head on his arm which still held her loosely.

Hop moved about and gathered up everyone into the living room, making sure they were close to yet not crowd El. Her and Mike disentangled themselves but he still grabbed one of her hands in both of his. Hopper gestured around the room when he had seated everyone. “Bet you've been wondering who’s house this is, huh?”

She nodded and glared at Mike who glared back at her. After a few seconds she stuck her tongue out at him causing the two to laugh.

The Chief shook his head at their antics and squatted down in front of them. “It's ours,” he said simply.

El’s face went blank. “What?”

“About a year ago I met with Dr. Owens. Do you remember him?”

“The man in the stairs,” she said confidently. “Bad?” Her voice became more timid. Mike gave her hand a squeeze.

Hopper shook his head. “He's one of the good guys now. He told me it would take a while for the bad men to really leave, for you to be truly safe, that we should keep you hidden for another year.”

El frowned and looked at her hands that were intertwined with the boy’s next to her. She didn't want to go. Didn't want to leave him again but didn't want to put him in danger. She steeled herself and looked up at her dad. “Ok,” she said with a resigned sigh. “Can I say goodbye first?”

He laughed lightly. “Kid it’s been  _ over  _ a year now,” he said reaching up and ruffling her hair. “You've been in hiding, that's why you couldn't walk around town or anything like that. We couldn't let anyone other than the people in this room know who you were. But now that time is over.” 

He held the envelope out to her and she gingerly took it. Mike let go of her hand and gave her a reassuring nod, ‘I’m not going anywhere, I’m still here.’ She slowly and carefully unsealed the envelope. The key slid out into her palm when she tilted the present. 

“I know you don't need it,” Hop said with a proud smirk, “but it helps keeps appearances and will remind you that you have a normal home.” 

El didn't know what he had meant but smiled anyway. ‘What about the cabin?’ She asked herself. She pulled out a piece of thick paper and looked at it questioningly. It was thicker than most of the paper’s she’s come across but somehow familiar. It looked similar to the paper she found in the basement of the cabin which lead her to mama.

“Jane Eleanor Hopper?” She read off the page. ‘Eleanor’ was unfamiliar to her and didn't know how to pronounce it until she remembered her first week in Hawkins. 

Hop nodded. “It's a Birth Certificate. Actually it's  _ your _ birth certificate. It is given to families when a baby is born and gives information like their birthday, where they're from, and who their parents are.”

“Jim Hopper,” she read. Her eyes lit up and her mouth formed one of the widest smiles anyone had ever seen. “Dad,” she said, voice cracking. She launched herself off of the love seat and hugged Hopper on the floor. 

The pair stayed like that for a solid minute before they both let go of each other. El sat back on the seat next to Mike. He beamed at her. She looked at the certificate again and frowned. “That's not Mama,” she stated pointing to the name on the ‘mother’ line of the paper.

Hop shook his head sadly. “We couldn't use her name, too dangerous, people could easily figure it out.”

“Who is she?” El asked.

“She isn't a real person, honey. Dr. Owens made her up,” he explained. She nodded. “With this there is no longer a need to keep you hidden anymore. You could walk into to town, go to the arcade, go to the movies-”

“Go to school?” She asked excitedly.

“Yeah sweetheart,” he said softly. “All of those worksheets and tests you've taken since I found you were to help you prepare to go to high school with the boys.” El beamed again. “You're just about caught up with history and science but you're still behind in English and math but if we continue the way we are you'll be caught up in summer time.”

The girl frowned before the corners of her mouth upturned. She jumped up and was halfway out the room before Hop called her back.

“Where are you going?” He asked with a chuckle. 

“Books?” She asked.

“Not for a few more days, honey. It's the holidays.”

She frowned but made her way back and sat down next to Mike. She looked back at the certificate and smiled one of her famous smiles. “Normal,” she said softly.

“Yeah, El you're a normal girl now,” Mike said just as softly. 

Her smile grew, if even possible, but then it turned down and she frowned. “What happens now?” She asked. It was a loaded question and no one seemed to know how to respond. 

“Tomorrow,” Mike replied after a few seconds. He always seemed to know how to answer all of her questions. “You have tomorrow, El.”

Her smile came back ten fold as she launched at the boy and wrapped him in a tight, teary eyed, hug. The others were just as confused before Will smiled as well. Max did next and she whispered something to Lucas who whispered to Dustin. Steve must've figured it out on his own and before long the party seemed to know what had been said. The adults didn't know what to think, especially Hop, he had expected her to be excited about Christmas but didn’t expect that type of reaction.

 

After their embrace ended, El pulled Mike with her up and both went to go hug Hopper as well. She had never felt so happy before, the two people that mattered to her the most were wrapped in her arms just as she was wrapped in theirs. The embrace ended and everyone was standing around in a sort of awkward silence.

“Why don't you kids show El around while we finish up dinner?” Karen asked after a few seconds.

Dustin groaned and Nancy tossed him a small piece of ham. He smiled and ate it quickly. “Let's go,” he said.

The telekinetic girl giggled. “Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?”

“Rooby Racks?” Dustin asked excitedly which made the girl giggle more. “Rey Raggy?” He jumped at Lucas who batted him away. “Rawww Raggy.”

Hop chuckled. “Alright you meddling kids, get out of here while we finish up in here.” The gang left the room chatting excitedly about which room they wanted to show her first. “Just make sure you kids wash up before you sit down to eat,” he called back to them.

 

The house wasn’t too large but it still took some time to cover all the rooms. They started up stairs which had four medium sized bedrooms and two full baths. El threw herself onto the bed in the room Mike said was hers. She hugged the pillow tightly and looked around at everything with wide eyes. 

Max explained what some of the stuff she didn’t recognize was and promised to show her when they had a slumber party. El nodded, she had watched enough tv to know what they were but she wasn’t quite sure she would like them.

The party lead her to Hop’s room and she looked around but knew that this was his space and would respect his privacy. Max showed her the bathroom she would be using. 

They went back down into the basement where El used her powers to make a giant blanket fort in one corner of the room unfortunately this caused her nose to bleed and Mike was quickly at her side with tissues at the ready. 

She dabbed a tissue at her nose to stop the blood flow while smiling at Mike. “Feels like home now,” she said laughing but then she paused, suddenly serious again, “thanks, Mike,” she said softly tears running down her cheeks.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Mike asked, gently tugging at her hand, he looked at her nose and was relieved to find it stopped bleeding.

“Home,” she stated. “You promised me a home,” she gestured around the space. “This is home, a real home.”

“What about the cabin?”

El shook her head. “They say ‘home is where the heart is,’ the cabin was a place. A great place, but just a place.”

Mike nodded in understanding, her message clear: ‘the cabin was just a place to stay but it wasn’t a place to live.’ “What about here?” He asked.

“Home,” she said confidently. “Here is home. Friends, family, safety, you, all here. Everything I could ever need. Ever want,” she lunged forward and pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you for bringing me home.”

He didn’t say anything for a while. He was just content to hold her tightly. He placed a lingering kiss on the top of her mop of curly hair. El pulled back gently and rested her head in the crook of his neck. 

“It wasn’t just me,” Mike said.

She moved slightly to get a better look at his face, cheek still resting upon his shoulder. “Dad too,” she stated.

“Not just us either. Everyone here tonight had a hand in making this house a home for you to grow up in.” He went on to explain what everyone did in the previous rooms as well as continued to do so with the spaces when they went back up to the main floor. Of course Mike was downplaying what he did to help out and Will told her how much the other boy helped out.

When the group got back to the room with the La-Z-Boy, El hugged all of her friends and thanked them profusely. She made sure to give Mike an extra loving one and a peck on the cheek as well **.** They pulled apart and a mischievous grin graced her lips. She swung him and their combined weight caused them to land on the easy chair. She used her powers to pull the lever and both smiled at each other.

When they went back into the dining room, most people had already sat down. Mike watched with a love struck grin as the telekinetic girl made her way around the table and thanked everyone with a hug for helping with the house.

“Kinda surreal, isn’t it?” A voice beside him asked.

“Didn’t we go through this last night?” Mike asked. Hopper had to pause,  _ that was only yesterday _ ? The kid let out a soft chuckle. “Feels like a long time ago doesn’t it,” he smirked, “end of an era,” he said sagely.

Hop nodded even though the kid was still looking at El just like he was. “I was talking about her,” the cop said. The kid turned his attention to him for the first time. He nodded at his daughter. “She’s a far cry from the timid girl I met in the woods.”

Mike let out a light hearted chuckle. “Speak for yourself. You seem to forget sometimes that I met her long before you did,” he smirked up at him then smiled fondly back at her. “She seems like a totally different person. No, she seems like  _ a  _ person, not just a shadow of one. But yeah it does seem surreal, doesn’t it?” He laughed again. “Imagine us on her first day of high school.”

“We’ll both be blubbering like a couple of babies watching as she climbs the stone steps out front,” Hop replied.

“Yeah,” the kid said dreamily.

“Then you’ll remember that you are going to high school too and faceplant running up the stairs after her.”

Mike laughed. “Yeah that sounds like me.”

“Imagine that: your first day and you dislodge a tooth and break your nose falling  _ up _ the stairs,” Hopper joked.

“Only to get beat up by the entire offensive line later,” the kid shot back, the chief threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “Wait you’re imagining all of this aren’t you, you sadistic bastard?”

“I’d say I’m sorry but I’m really not.”

El finished talking with Jackson and Carol and walked to where the two onlookers stood. She gave them a watery smile before she pulled Hop into a tight hug. “Thanks dad,” she said softly. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. After a few seconds he pulled Mike in as well and El sighed in content. 

The moment would’ve lasted longer but a camera flash startled them. Nancy stood and smiled sheepishly camera in her hand. Karen came out of the kitchen carrying the last dish and called everyone to the table. The adults sat on one end of the table and the kids and teens had the other. 

El sat between Steve and Mike and took in the food laden table with apprehension. Most of these dishes she hadn’t seen before and wasn’t sure what she’d like. She felt a hand wrap around hers under the table and she turned to see Mike give her a reassuring smile. “Why don’t I give you a little bit of everything, that way we could find what you like and give what you don’t back to me; sound good?”

She smiled and nodded. She tried everything there and as promised Mike took what she didn’t want… except brussel sprouts which she gave Max who loved them. (“What?” She asked when Dustin, Steve, and Mike saw she piled a good portion onto her plate. “They’re one of the few vegetables I like.”) 

El realized she liked to mix corn with mashed potatoes and stuffing. And that she liked to put that mixture in between two halves of a biscuit with some ham, which she liked better than turkey (Dustin high-fived her from around Steve when he realized that). The meal was filled with idle chatter and praises to Nancy, Karen, Jonathan, and Steve who helped to make this meal possible as well as the sounds of content munching. 

About halfway through diner, El looked up from her plate and around at the people who sat at the table as well. “Family,” she whispered.

“What? I didn’t catch that,” Jackson said.

“Family,” she said louder and with more confidence.

Will smiled sweetly from across from the girl. “Yeah, El, we’re all family.” She looked to Mike who nodded then to Steve who ruffled her hair.

“Sometimes friends make for a better family,” Max said looking down at her plate.

“Family don’t always end in blood, girl,” Jackson said. Lucas and his girlfriend both blushed. 

The conversation lulled until the end of dinner and Joyce, Carol, Steve, and Jonathan elected to clean up. There were a lot of leftovers which were stored in the fridge until later when they were dished out to people that wanted them. The rest of the people mingled in the dining room except for Karen who was working on making coffee and warming desserts. 

El found herself standing near the tree and she smiled at the all people around her but frowned remembering the ones who weren’t. Mike, ever by her side, seemed to immediately realize her train of thought. “I’m sure Hop can bring you to see your mama, El,” he smiled brightly, “I could go too if you wanted. I still have about a week and a half left off from school.” He frowned not wanting to ruin her good day with what he had to say next. “I’m not sure about your sister though. I don’t know if we would be able to find her, especially if she doesn’t want to be found. But that doesn’t mean I won’t help you look for her.”

“Mike,” El began in a soothing voice, “I don’t really need to see my sister. She’s on her own path like I’m on mine. She has her own group and I have all of you.” She turned her attention to the tree. “Kali, Eight, my sister, she was wrong about one thing.”

“What’s that?” Mike asked.

She smiled back up at him softly. “She said that my friends couldn’t save me and you did,” her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, “I came back for you, Mike. I made you a promise. There was a few seconds when I wanted to give up and rest forever after I closed the gate. You brought me back, Mike. But you saved me long before that as well. Kali was wrong and coming back to Hawkins, to you, was right.”

He pulled her into a loving hug. “You saved me too El. You know that right? Living without knowing if you,” he cut himself off with a half sob, “if you were still out there… it was  _ so _ hard El. But that day, when you showed up to save us, you saved me twice that day. Seeing you again, it was like life was breathed back into me. I’ve never been more happy than I was that day. But I’ve never been more scared than I was then either. When you left to go close the gate- I felt like a part of me was getting ripped out.”

“I felt it too,” she mumbled against his chest.

“What matters is that you came back,” he said planting a kiss on her curls. “If you didn’t… I don’t want to think about what that would’ve done to me. When you were gone for that year, I lost myself. Ask anyone. I wasn’t the same person, El. I was a shadow of the Mike I used to be, a poor imitation, going through the motions of life without really living. But when you came back…”

El held him tighter. “I understand, Mike. I-I was the same way.”

“I don’t ever wanna feel that way again.”

She moved her face to look up into his eyes. “You won’t. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

“You saved me that night, El,” Mike said tears threatening to fall.

“We take care of each other. It’s what we’re supposed to do, what we do, and what we will do, it’s a universal constant,” she said cheekily, remembering one of their latest lessons.

He laughed and she smiled. He swung her around so they both faced the tree. “Welcome home, El,” he whispered and kissed the side of her head.

Dustin came running up a few minutes later and begged El to help him with something. She could barely nod before she was dragged off. Mike followed close behind, staying a few paces behind them.

The hat wearing boy leaned down and whispered in her ear. El smiled mischievously and the other boy asked ‘think you can do it?’ loudly enough for the observer hear, she nodded.

Behind Mike, a cardboard box started to shake and he saw flashes of green and red fly from the box. The shapes flew straight up then flew off in different directions. It wasn’t until one stopped above Jackson and Carol that he was able to identify what it was. Mistletoe hovered above the couples in the room. Nancy and Jonathan noticed first the latter blushed and the former pulled him into a loving kiss. 

One flew over to Max and Lucas. Max huffed and grabbed the offending plant and threw it before pulling her boyfriend into a kiss.

Ted seemed oblivious of the flying plants as he poured himself a cup of coffee and Karen gave him a kiss on the cheek.  

Jackson finally noticed and tipped his wife back and gave her a theatrical kiss.

Hop ignored the mistletoe zooming around his head and pretended not to notice when it hit him on the head every few passes. Joyce seemed to take pity on him and pulled him down to face level and planted a kiss on him.

Mike watched with a dopey smile on his face as El controlled the plants. He expected her to return them to their box after she was done but they followed her as she walked towards him. They flew in a lazy crisscross pattern continuously going up and down as they drifted seemingly aimlessly once she was within arm’s reach. He smiled and gave her a loving, lingering kiss. Around them the plants plummeted, El no longer could control them as her brain was focused entirely on Mike, that is until a mistletoe plant landed on each of them. He gently plucked the green and red plant out of her hair, she smiled sheepishly. He held the object above her head and leaned down to give her another quick kiss. 

Nancy ruined the moment with a camera flash yet again and her brother couldn’t help but believe that she was doing that on purpose. Dessert was served and with it more stories of the past and hints of the future. El once again listened with rapt attention, longing for the day that she had her own stories to share. But until then she was content to listen to the others’ stories from her position curled up against Mike in front of the fireplace with a clear view of the Christmas tree enjoying each other’s company and some of Mrs. Henderson’s chocolate trifle.

“What’s in this? This tri-fle?” She asked hesitantly trying to correctly pronounce the unfamiliar word.

“It’s a multi layered dessert. Each layer is different from the last. On the bottom you have chocolate cake with some caramel mixed in, then some Oreos mixed with whipped cream, then a layer of pudding,” he got cut off with a quiet laugh and a bump to his shoulder.

“That chocolate goo you eat with a spoon?” 

“You remember that?” Mike asked with a laugh.

El furrowed her brow as if the question offended her. “I remember everything from that week,” she said, a slight unfamiliar hardness in her voice.

He bumped her shoulder with his in an attempt to lighten the mood. “So do I,” he laughed, “hard to believe it was only a week, right?”

Her gaze fell to her bowl of dessert. “More like a lifetime,” she said softly, almost too soft for him to hear.

“Yeah,” Mike let himself trail off and their conversation turned awkward for the first time that night. 

“It’s good though,” El spoke after a few seconds, licking her spoon clean of pudding.

“Told you you’d like it,” he said nudging her shoulder again.

She gave him a toothy grin. “Never, ever, doubted you.” He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. As he pulled away she grabbed a spoonful of his dessert and ate it. 

Mike gave her a glare and moved to get a scoop of her trifle but she moved the bowl out of reach. “Seriously?” He asked. She grabbed a spoonful and brought it to him. He opened his mouth to accept the treat but she moved it at the last second and ate it herself. As she did he grabbed a spoonful from her bowl and grinned triumphantly at her glare.

“Ok if they start making out in front of us I’m out,” Dustin muttered and Max nodded in agreement.

Mike and El blushed but didn’t move away from each other. The latter enjoyed the desserts immensely and hoped that her dad would let her have some leftovers. The former enjoyed watching her as he did throughout the evening. It was amazing to see her face light up in delight as she realized she likes something new or the smile on her face after she laughs or even the way her nose wrinkles when she tries something she doesn’t like. He likes to watch her because she is so pure and likes to help her discover new things because it’s as if he’s discovering things all over again with her. 

The rest of the evening passed by quickly and when some of the parents and siblings were ready to leave for the night, Joyce came up with the idea for a group photo. Everyone was in agreement over the plan but no one was more enthusiastic than El who was bouncing with excitement. It was decided, by a still enthusiastic El, they stand in front of the tree for the photo. The telekinetic girl dragged Mike and Hopper over to the Christmas tree. 

Hopper stood behind the two teens with Joyce on his left and on the right were the Sinclair's, Claudia, and Max with Steve on the end. Next to Joyce was an empty space for Jonathan and Nancy when they were done setting up the camera. Next to the empty space was where the Wheeler family stood. Dustin had elected to lie down on the floor in a position that said ‘hey ladies’ while he had a full turkey leg in his hand (something that confused the hell out of Hopper because he could swear he stripped the two turkey legs clean of meat earlier today when he was carving the bird). 

Mike quietly explained what Jonathan and Nancy were doing with the camera to El when she asked and Hopper couldn’t help but smile at them. After his quick explanation El turned her attention away from Mike and onto the floor, Hop knew that this was a pretty heavy handed sign that she had a burning question and was working on how to phrase it properly.

“Tomorrow?” El said after a few seconds of silent deliberation and let the word trail off into a question. She turned to face Mike. “Together?” She asked in her timid voice she used whenever she asked a very important question.

The boy gave her a gentle smile. “Together,” he repeated as he placed an arm around her back.

She turned to face her adoptive dad. “Together?” She asked in the same tone of voice as before.

“Always,” Hopper said, his response automatic. He wasn’t exactly sure what she had been asking but when her famous ‘everything's the way it’s supposed to be’ smile came brighter than ever before he knew he answered correctly. 

El launched herself at the cop and pulled him into a tight hug. Hop caught Mike’s gaze over the top of his daughter’s head. The boy nodded at him and Hop knew that he was… no not forgiven, he knew that he would never be forgiven for keeping them apart (nor would he ever forgive himself)... He knew that Mike’s nod meant he trusted him again and that things were gonna be ok between them. 

The girl pulled away from him and stepped next to the boy. Hop was confused as to why agreeing to spend tomorrow together made her smile like that. He was her father in every way that mattered and of course he would spend Christmas Day with his daughter.

And that’s when realization struck him like a ton of bricks.

Up until now, El had been living one day at a time, no need for the past, nothing to look forward to in the future besides seeing her friends. In the lab she survived one day at a time, no past, no future, only today and nothing else. When she escaped, she only looked forward to Mike’s return home and again had no reason to remember the past. In the cabin, she only looked forward to seeing her friends again in a future only promised by ‘soon’ and she lived in the past, in the only week that she was truly free. She only looked forward to her nightly talks with Mike but seeing as they came every day, she didn’t have much variation to look forward to. Now that he thought about it, Mike had never ended the call with ‘talk to you tomorrow’ instead he always ended the chat with ‘I’ll talk to you later’ and the chief never thought anything about it until now. Things were much the same as after she closed the gate as she only looking forward to see her friends and constantly thinking of the past, living day to day yet again.

Now though with the birth certificate and the prospect of school did she truly have a reason to look forward. 

When Mike had said she had tomorrow, he wasn’t talking tomorrow as in Christmas Day he was talking about the idea of tomorrow. Tomorrow meant taking the future head on. Tomorrow meant a life worth living. Tomorrow meant finally putting her past behind her. Tomorrow meant the first day of the rest of her life and all the days after that.

Hopper was stunned at how the kid was able to express all of that with just a simple word that up until now he had taken for granted. He glanced around and managed to catch Steve’s eye. Realization must have been clear on the cop’s face because the teen gave him a smirk and a knowing nod before turning back to the camera. 

Hop turned back to face forward as well. He remembered El’s question. She had asked if the two most important people in her life would help her live a normal life and stay with her every step of the way. “Always,” he repeated. Mike and El turned back to smile at him before looking forward again. He was vaguely aware of Jonathan and Nancy rushing back to join the line of people.

He may not have known what he had agreed to when he made that promise but now he knew that it was a promise he would keep to his dying day and beyond. 

 

And by the time the flash went off, Hopper had a smile of his own. 

**Author's Note:**

> Had the last line in my head from the very beginning, all the rest came after. Hope you enjoyed it, please rate and review. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.


End file.
